On a brilliant Sydney day in the gardens of Bear Cottage, four-year-old Mia Murchison was trying out the 'princess dress' she will wear next month to meet 'reallife Princess Kate'.

Upstairs at the children's hospice, excited staff were in a flurry of preparations for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, saying they were 'proud' their care facility had been chosen for the royal couple's Easter Friday visit.

Mia, who suffers from rare Batten disease, is one of eight children with life limiting conditions who will meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they visit Bear Cottage in the Sydney seaside suburb of Manly.